Two local funeral establishments have joined together to better serve our community. Costner-Maloy Funeral Home has roots dating back to 1924… and Brown Funeral Home was established in 1930. The two firms are part of the Heritage Family, an East Tennessee company that is based in Elizabethton. Brown Funeral Home joined the Heritage Family in October of 2019… with Costner-Maloy Funeral Home followi
ng in July of this year. All staff will remain in place; and all prearrangements made with both firms will be served by the combined entity. Donnie Costner, former owner of Costner-Maloy, will remain with the company. Costner & Judy Ottinger will join Nathan Manning at the newly-renamed firm of “Costner-Maloy & Brown”.
“I’ve always seen Donnie (Costner) as a man of integrity… and viewed him more as a neighbor than a competitor,” said Manning. “We’ve worked two doors down from one another for years… serving the same community that means so much to us both. Now we get to do it from under the same roof.”
While many pieces of antique furniture will be moving down the street, Costner retains ownership of the former Costner-Maloy building itself. Funeral business, however, ceased operating there on August first of this year. All services for Costner-Maloy & Brown will be handled through the former Brown property, located at 338 East Main Street in downtown Newport, across the railroad tracks from the courthouse. As the two funeral homes come together, the first noticeable result will be new signage on the building. “We’ve been working together quietly since the acquisition on July first… but had to wait until the state board gave us the green-light to make things public,” said Manning. “Moving forward, we have a lot of long-range improvements planned.”
With a history of tradition, Costner-Maloy & Brown have been there for families in need. With a future of service, Costner-Maloy & Brown will be here for generations to come.
